By: Priya MigneaultThis November 7th, Stonehouse Publishing will release their newest collection of novels via a virtual book launch. The authors included in the launch are Anna Marie Sewell, Danika Stone, Sabrina Uswak, EB Frank, and Robin van Eck, four of whom are Albertan. As the launch approaches, I will be releasing an interview with one of the authors featured every week and this week, I had the privilege to interview Anna Marie Sewell. Anna Marie is an award-winning multi-genre artist, who has published two poetry books: Fifth World Drum, Frontenac House, 2009; and 2018’s For the Changing Moon, Thistledown Press. In addition to writing books, she runs a blog at prairiepomes.com which covers various topics. Anna Marie Sewell was born in New Brunswick, to a Polish mother and Anishinaabe/Mi’gmaq father. She was brought up with Indigenous storytelling and philosophy, and incorporates aspects of both into her first novel ‘Humane’. However, as she notes in the after-word, this is a work of fiction, which does not claim to represent the ‘authentic lore’ of any particular people. In ‘Humane’ we meet Hazel, who is a mother working to ensure her daughters are strong and prepared for the world. However, she gets sucked into the unexpected when she agrees to help the August family find the killer of their daughter, Nell. Hazel is unable to find any leads, and she shouts her despair into the night. A vision encounters her and requires her to steal a dog. As the story unfolds and new connections are made, it puts not only Hazel but her family at risk. Now, the case not only becomes a question of ‘Who killed Nell?’ but as the protagonists become more tangled in the mystery and closer to the killer, the question becomes ‘Who will survive?’. The novel is a thrilling mystery from beginning to end, with the unexpected happening at every turn. ‘Humane’ is based in an alternate reality in which Canada has allied with India to receive new technology while accepting more immigrants after a series of crises. The main city the novel is based in is called ‘Amiskwaciy’in a version of history where Edmonton has chosen to change its name to represent Indigenous history, which Sewell says would be interesting to see in real life. The main message of the novel “depends on who’s reading it,” says Anna Marie. “But central to it, is we live every day in a world that is infinitely stranger than we can possibly comprehend and in the face of that anything really is possible. (...) And given that all things are possible, what do you choose to make of the fact that you’re human? What does it mean to be human? What does it matter to be humane?” She named the novel ‘Humane’ because she found it interesting how closely the word ‘human’ and ‘humane’ are to each other. Because although humans claim to be humane, we are the creatures that have been hurting the planet and starting wars since the beginning of time. “Humane is one of the highest ethical qualities we can possess, and what does that mean when we look at humans and the utterly nasty things we get up to?” Sewell questions. A comparison she makes is that dogs, who are loyal, kind, and trustworthy, are more humane than people sometimes, which is a subject she touches on in the novel. “All around the world, we have stories of shapeshifting, in every culture and it’s usually tied to something fearful. There’s a monstrousness in being able to change your form (...), but there are also heroic qualities,” she says. ”I think that it’s fascinating that people everywhere have those stories. Particularly in the stories that I grew up with; a lot of shapeshifters (that were evil) were dogs. They are turning into a creature that pretends to belong to what is domestic and good, that’s where the danger is. If you think about a werewolf it really in some sense is saying that the danger is in wilderness, in the thing you don’t own. In the version where they’re dogs it is really telling you the trouble is close to home.” Shapeshifting and canines are two of the topics central to Humane, and which resonate in Lana Gilday’s‘Bad Dog Blues’, which will debut at the launch. Sewell says that the song was a perfect fit because she feels it is a song Hazel and Spider would sing together as a duet. “The blues is such a thing that people relate to because it comes from a specific history, but it has spread out and touched people all around the world. It’s such a human thing,” she says, “Everyone can relate to this feeling of this burden, and you love, and you hate, and you don’t know what to do, so you just gotta complain about it. You’re just pleading your case.” The song is unique as it is written from the dog Spider’s point of view. The cover art for ‘Humane’ was created by Anna Marie’s sister, Trish Sewell. “She captured brilliantly that sense of what it is to live in a world of wonders,” Anna Marie says, “And to wake up understanding that you're actually a part of it. You’re a part of the wonder. You’re a part of the working of it, even though you don’t know how to be, you have a part that you have to play.” Sewell says that releasing her first novel has been quite the journey. She has a long career as a poet (and was Edmonton’s 4th Poet Laureate along the way), but writing poetry is very different from writing a mystery novel. “Poetry is sprinting. Novels are endurance racing,” she says. Once she began writing the novel, it took her six to eight months to complete. A lot of Humane was written with the support of the Edmonton Artists’ Trust Fund. Anna Marie believes there should be more funding put into the arts and that artists and writers should consider looking for artistic funds or grants in their area. As for publishing and finding an agent, she recommends that aspiring writers keep trying and experimenting until a company accepts their work. Sewell claims that there aren’t enough Canadian authors, and she highly recommends people try to write from a Canadian perspective, which includes a beautiful mix of cultures. And she sees writers as servants of potential, who offer visions of what might be. “You might put out 100 visions of how things might work better, and 99 of them might turn out to have some flaw in execution, which means they can’t actually happen. But the 100th one might be the really great next thing, so that’s what a writer is for.” Stonehouse Publishing launches Humane and four other novels on November 7th on an online zoom call, which you can attend by purchasing your ticket here on Eventbrite. Each novel has a recommended food and drink pairing to enjoy with the readings. For Humane, bring maple popcorn to munch on, and an Italian espresso. Popcorn and maple are both traditional Indigenous foods, while Anna Mariechose Italian Espresso to pay respect to ‘Spinelli Bar Italia’ where she spends many hours writing. You can find ‘Humane’ online at Amazon and Indigo. However, she highly recommends trying to find it at your local indie bookstore first, after it is released, or ordering direct through Stonehouse Publishing.
2 Comments
10/26/2020 02:47:30 pm
I would love to send you a free copy of Terramara and have you write/review it. I am friends with Alenna Cameron!
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8/2/2022 02:16:14 pm
Tiktok anlık takipçi satın almak, tiktok düşmeyen takipçi satın alma ve takipçi sayısını arttırmak isteyen sizler sitemize girerek tiktok takipçi satın al hizmetinden faydalanın. Takipçi satın almak hiç bu kadar kolay yoldan olmamıştı.
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